Saturday, December 5, 2009

#1 Williamsburg Bridge

Both of us live just a few block from the base of the Williamsburg bridge. One day we decided to unicycle across it. Afterwards we decided to ride to McCarren park and back. Somewhere during that ride we decided to ride our unicycles across every bridge in New York City. And thus our mission was forged.

From the New York City Department of Transportation:

Said to have been inspired by the works of the eminent French architect Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the landmark Williamsburg Bridge is the largest of the three suspension bridges that span the heavily-navigated East River. A gargantuan structure noted for its 35-story steel towers and ponderous stiffening trusses, the Williamsburg Bridge boldly reaches from Delancey Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Designed by Leffert L. Buck and architecturally embellished by Henry Hornbostel, the bridge took seven years and $30 million to construct. Upon its completion in 1903, it became the longest suspension bridge in the world, supplanting a record held by the Brooklyn Bridge for the previous two decades. The first elevated train went into service on the bridge in 1905.

Statistics:Construction commenced - November 7, 1896Open to traffic - December 19, 1903Total Length - 7308 feetLength of the main span - 1600 feetLength of each of the four cables - 2985 feet